Brabus Smart Fortwo Electric Drives Into Geneva

Brabus, the German tuner we all know for its high power, high performance tuning of Mercedes Benz vehicles turned its attention to the fragile smart Fortwo and decided to make something of it. And no, they did not fit the Smart with some oversized, supercharged aircraft carrier propelling powerplant. Brabus went for a more environmentally friendly approach, and chose to customize the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive.

Brabus used a lithium-ion battery powered Smart Fotwo, first shown at the Paris Motor Show in 2008, as a base for their vehicle. The small car was fitted with sports suspensions and Brabus Monoblock VII alloy wheels in a five double-spoke design to give it a more sporty look.

As it is intended to be an environmentally friendly vehicle, the color of choice for the Smart Fortwo could have been none other than green. Exclusive for this version, the body of the car was painted in a matt green paintwork. The visual impact is completed by a white cabriolet soft top and LED daytime driving lights. The electric Smart Fortwo uses the same white and green colors for the interior fabrics.

For reasons of active safety, the Smart Fortwo Brabus electric drive is additionally equipped with a Brabus sound generator, which generates a sound specially developed for the smart electric drive via the power output. The vehicle can be seen and heard at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show.

"From the end of 2009 we will start producing the smart fortwo electric drive with a lithium-ion battery," Dieter Zetsche, Daimler CEO said. The series Smart Fortwo electric drive will initially be produced as a limited edition and will be tested on the streets of Berlin, Paris, Rome, Milan and Pisa.